Wonderland in a Blender
by Gracie Facie
Summary: Alison Jonston, Ali for short, has always heard the story about Alice in Wonderland. However, she always dismissed it as childish folly. Wonderland is lost on her--at least, until she finds herself down the rabbit-hole.
1. Chapter 1: Down the Ivy Hole

This story has been a bit of a brain-child for me for a while--I'm not quite sure about the details, but I thought it would be good. Tally ho!

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**Wonderland in a Blender**

**Summary:** Alison Jonston, Ali for short, has always heard the story about Alice in Wonderland. However, she always dismissed it as childish folly. Wonderland is lost on her--at least, until she finds herself down the rabbit-hole.

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"I can't wait for it! It's going to be so great!" Eliza squealed, hugging the Alice in Wonderland poster to her chest tightly.

Ali sighed. Eliza's obsession with that old story was getting quite vexing, having been exponentially multiplied by the premiere of the Tim Burton film based on it. School had just gotten out, and they hadn't even gotten off of the grounds before Eliza had started in on it. Personally, Ali thought the story was absolutely bullocks--the man was a drug addict, nothing else. The story's usual enchantments had never ensared her in it's crazy web.

"Please, Ali? Will you please go see it with me?" Eliza pleaded, staring up at her with those big blue doe-eyes.

"But I hate that story, you know that," Ali replied, trying not to get sucked into Eliza's gaze. Eliza made a whimpering noise. Although she was seventeen, she still looked about twelve, and was a dead ringer for the Disney version of Alice, what with her long blonde hair that curled slightly and her big blue eyes. She even owned an Alice costume and wore it to school on casual Fridays.

"Oh, Ali, won't you please do it for me? I'll never bother you again, I promise! Father says it's childish, and Mother's not around to go with me. Please, Ali?"

Ali sighed. "Alright, alright. We'll go tomorrow. Just don't expect me to like it. I don't like American movies much anyways, and you can bet this won't be any different."

"Thank you, Thank you! You have no idea what this means to me!" Eliza threw her arms around Ali's neck and squeezed her tight.

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"I'm home," Ali called through the no-doubt empty hallways of her house. Mother didn't get off work until late, and her father was on a business trip in America. She tossed her bag onto the chair in the parlor and walked upstairs to her room. She changed out of her uniform and into some jeans and a Beatles T-shirt. With a sigh, she put her iPod (a gift her father had brought back from America for her last time he'd gone--as if she couldn't get it in London) into the iPod radio and listened to music while she did her homework. When "Hey, Jude" came on she hummed along, wishing for the umpteenth time that she had been able to see them in concert.

Presently, she grew overly bored of her homework and found herself staring longingly out the window, wishing that the dullness of her everyday routine would just go away. Soon, her papers and books no longer held even a shred of her interest, and she had grabbed her jacket and sketchbook and gone outside.

She breathed in the warm summer air, wondering how her parents had decided to send her to a year-round school. She longed for the three months of lazy summer afternoons that some of her friends enjoyed, wished she could explore all of London without having to worry about her studies or her teachers or learning how to sit up straight and drink tea properly. With a sigh, she collapsed against the great oak tree in her backyard and began to look around for things to draw.

Her mother's garden was, of course, quite beautiful. However, Ali's sketchbook already had numerous drawings of her mother's azaeleas and hibiscuses and sunflowers and daisies. Then there was the pond--her father had built it and filled it with koi fish. But, once again, she had drawn the pond many times. Frustrated, she looked around frantically, her eyes falling on the hole in the ivy, leading down into the little cave she and the neighbor girl, Jillian, had dug beneath the fence when they were very young. She smiled as she remembered all the things they had hidden down there, and suddenly thought that one of those things might be worth drawing.

She grabbed a lantern out of the shed and began the wander cautiously down the ivy-hole, struggling to keep her footing on the weather-worn path downward. She tried to remember the last time she'd been down there, but couldn't. How different it had all seemed back then, she thought. The lantern's glow illuminated the path, willing her onward towards the bottom.

It was after a few minutes when she began to wonder--why was it taking her so long to reach the cavern? The walk had never taken this long before. The path just seemed to wind down even further the deeper she went. Perhaps Jillian and her little brothers and sisters had taken to deepening it--after all, they didn't go to a year-round school, and had had plenty of time during their summers to do so. Had they moved all the things as well? Wait, there was something--she slowed and looked at the teddy bear on the shelf as she passed it. It seemed to wink at her. She shook it off and continued down. Surely the rest of the items were coming soon?

Sudenly, her foot caught on a root and she fell down abruptly. She braced herself to hit the dusty ground, but never felt it. With shock, she realized she was falling endlessly. she could see her lantern ahead of her, having dropped it when she tripped. it's light dissappeared and she got very confused.

"Just what in the world is going on here?" She demanded, knowing she wouldn't receive an answer. "This is ridiculous! Absolute tommyrot! When one trips, they should hit the--"

Suddenly she felt solid ground under her feet, and she came down hard, smacking into the ground with such force that she could swear she saw little birds around her head.

"Ugh, ground..." She continued deliriously She looked around her, but everything was dark. "What the devil....Where in hell's name am I?"

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So, that's the first chapter! Kinda short, and I know it's a little similar to the book, but bear with me here. It's completely different from here on out.

See you next time!


	2. Chapter 2: A Cheshire Welcome

Thanks for the positive reviews--I've found that when I think of the sentences in a british accent, it comes out better. Odd.

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Ali shuffled around the ground and groped for her lantern. When she found it, it was already in pieces. She sighed and gave up hoping for light. Instead, she began to search for a way out.

She ran her hand along the wall, wondering where she could have fallen. Obviously, this was not dug by Jillian and her siblings. Maybe something had happened while she was out of town sometime? No, that couldn't be. She frowned as her hand ran across something that was not the wall--in fact, it felt like a person! She jumped back in horror, going through all her slef-defense classes in her mind rapidly, ready to claw the person's eyes out.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Came an amused voice from where she had just been. "There's nobody here but you and me." The voice was quiet for a moment, Ali not daring to talk. "Ah, I see, you want the light. Well, look around you, silly. It's been on this whole time." She looked around and, sure enough, the cavern was filled with light as if it had never been dark. She gazed at the place, puzzled. Instead of the dirt cavern she had been expecting, she found herself in a marble room, which confused her greatly because she'd felt the dirt with her own hands. Now as she ran her hands along the wall and ground, it was smooth, as most marble was. She looked over to where the voice had been, and saw no-one.

"Looking for me?"

Ali twirled around and was face-to-face with an amused looking boy, seemingly nineteen. He smiled a huge grin, and bowed a deep bow. He was sporting a spiffy maroon suit that accented his hair, which was slicked back and a multitude of hues--blues, purples, reds, oranges, and greens.

"Cheshire von Katt, at your service, madame. Pleased to make your aquaintance." He straightened up, still smiling his ridiculous smile. She saw that his eyes were a deep, entrancing violet color.

"You mean, the Cheshire Cat?" Ali said skeptically.

Cheshire von Katt cocked his head slightly at her, his smile beginning to be rather unsettling. "Yes, I have been called that at times. Not many use that alias, though--that is, of course, because I am not a cat. Although, I would surely like to be one. Why, I've half a mind to change into one!"

"Oh, poppycock. One can't simply 'change' into a cat, or any other animal for that matter." She said, tearing her eyes away from his smile and turning away from him in a huff.

"Really, now? Then, if I've gotten the rules wrong, why is it that you have those bunny ears on your head?"

"What?!" Her hand shot up to her head. "Nonsense, there's no way I--" She stopped. There was some kind of furry appendage growing out of her head, whether it be bunny ears or something else....She felt her face turn white. She swiveled around to face Cheshire--but he had dissappeared again. In his place stood a full length mirror, in which she could very plainly see the two, soft, furry, white bunny ears that were indeed growing out of her head.

"Now, tell me, if one can't turn into an animal, then what do you think _you_ are?" She looked behind her to see Cheshire, hanging from a tree branch that seemed to be growing straight out of the marble.

"Dreaming. Yes, that's it," She said, mostly to herself. "I must have fallen asleep in the garden. All this nonsense is coming to my mind because Eliza wouldn't stop talking about that stupid movie. I'm just dreaming."

"Dreaming or awake, you're still here." Cheshire said, dropping from the ceiling and twisting(much like a cat does) to land on his feet. "Now, tell me--are you a friend of Alice? Or of Lewis? Or--" He did a bit of a skip-hop toward her. "Both?"

"I have no idea what you mean," she said impatiently, tugging at her newly acquired bunny ears to make sure they weren't fake. They weren't.

"Well, I should think it an easy question. Are you a friend of Alice, Lewis, or of both?" He put his head in his hands, leaning his elbows on a table she hadn't noticed before. "You had to know one of them--they're the only two people ever to come here besides you! They _must_ have told you where to find us."

"Do you mean Lewis Carroll?"

"Yes, I do believe that was his name. Quite an odd duck, that one. I think he went mad, too. Not that I've the right to call anyone else mad--we're all mad here."

"Well, I'm not friends with either of them, as if that makes any difference. Alice doesn't exist, she's just a character in a book. And that book was written by Lewis Carroll, and he's dead."

"Really? Such a pity. I did like that boy. He fit right in here. Not Alice, though, oh, no. She stuck out like a sore thumb. Anyway, we should be heading out now, hmmm?"

"Yeah, right, as if I'd go anywhere with _you_." Ali scoffed. "You're madder than Lewis Carrol himself, and I want no part of it, thank you very much."

"All the same, we must be getting along." He began to walk away.

"Didn't you hear me? I'm not going."

"Of course you are! You _do_ want to get out of here, don't you?" He said, turning on his heel to face her. "Of course, if you want to stay in this place forever, then feel free. I must be going." She gasped as she saw him fading away, first his feet and hands, then his torso, and finally his eyes and mouth were the only thing left. His grin hadn't left his face once.....well, figuratively speaking, of course.

Then he was gone. Ali stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. Then she shook it off. "Perhaps I _should_ have gone with him," She thought aloud. "God knows I don't know where I am, let alone how to get around. How insane this all is. I do hope I wake up soon."

She looked at the table Cheshire had been leaning on earlier, and with shock found her sketchbook there. She picked it up and thumbed through it, seeing all the usual things. It didn't seem to be touched. Except for the last page--on the last page was a picture of Cheshire, drawn in Ali's hand, her style down to the dot. In the picture, Cheshire was pointing to the left, wearing that mischevious grin of his. Impulsively, Ali looked to where the picture pointed---

There was a door. It was tall and wooden, and most certainly hadn't been there before. She looked back at the page, but the picture was gone. She blinked. "What an odd boy he was. I don't think I'd much like to see him again." She closed the sketchbook and turned to the big wooden door, pulling absentmindedly on her freshly sprouted bunny ears.

"This looks the only way out--and despite what I said before, I've no intention of staying _here_."

With that, she grasped the big brass handles and gave the door a good, hard shove.

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LOL Cheshire's funny, ne? I like him. He's always been my favorite character. Anyway, I'd appreciate reviews! See you next time!

BTW, here's some Vocabulary for you: The word "cheshire" means someone who mimics someone else or steals ideas so as to further their social status.


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